Nightmares II
by lostmoonchild
Summary: He had won and now they're his slaves. Unfortunately for them, the battle hasn't finished. Instead the fight to live has only begun and there is only one rule: kill or be killed.
1. Prologue

**lostmoonchild: alright, somebody wanted another one so here we go. I didn't plan on making the "Nightmares" story have a sequal, just leaving everybody in shock at the story but alas, somebody wanted a sequal. Anyway, here we go. I don't own Code: Lyoko period. The songs I don't own either so don't send any lawyers after me.**

PROLOGUE

Yumi wearily opened her eyes and found herself in a room she didn't recognize. There were blood red silk curtains hanging over a huge window, the carpet was almost as black as night, and there seemed to be a feeling of evil lurking everywhere. She wondered for a minute what had happened then she remembered. XANA had taken control of her friends' bodies and killed everybody who attempted to leave Kadic's grounds.

Quietly, she got up and immediately froze when she saw that was a wearing a black dress that had a slit that went up to her thigh. "Oh, he is so dead." Yumi muttered trying to open the door. "nobody makes me wear this kind of dress and lives to tell about it. Especially when that somebody is a psychotic computer who's about to get his ass kicked by a very pissed of teenage girl!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way about me, Miss Ishiyama." A cold voice said.

Yumi spun around and glared at a now human XANA. For a minute, she wondered if she was simply dreaming and would wake up safe in her own room. God, how she HOPED this was nothing more than a terrible nightmare. "Wake me up now, mom... Hiroki... anybody!" Yumi whispered in Japanese.

"You aren't dreaming, my pet." XANA said with an evil smirk.

"I AM NOT YOUR PET!" Yumi screamed, completely unaware that there was now a small crowd forming. "I AM A HUMAN BEING! YOU ARE A COMPUTER, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LISTEN TO HUMANS!"

"Is that the case with Aelita?" XANA questioned.

"No. she's human." Yumi said coldly.

XANA simply smiled and said, "But for some time, she was a computer program. Was she not?"

Yumi fell silent knowing perfectly well that XANA had managed to outsmart her in that round. But the war was far from over if she had any say about the subject. "She was never a computer program." Yumi answered calmly. _HA! Take that Mr. I'm-So-Great!_

"I will never understand humans."

"And for several very good reasons. You will NEVER be like us. We may fight a lot and destroy what was given to us, but we know how to do things even a COMPUTER wouldn't know about. Jeremy taught Aelita, and she understood because she is human."

With her talk finished, Yumi attempted to get to the door but stopped when Ulrich grabbed her arm. XANA smiled coldly and said, "Take her to her room and make sure she doesn't get out."

Screaming, Yumi tried to fight against Ulrich's grip but found that she couldn't get away. After fifteen minutes, she was thrown into a room and the door behind her locked. Sobbing, she threw herself onto the bed and cried until she fell into a slightly fitful sleep.

**lostmoonchild: Alright, there we go. Read and Review, flames are (as always) accepted.**


	2. Chapter 1

lostmoonchild: Thanks for the reviews. I am soooo sorry it's taken so long just to update, I honestly forgot about this story until somebody asked me when I was planning on updating next. So here's chapter one. I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

CHAPTER ONE

"_Yumi…"_

_Yumi looked around and saw that she was safe in Lyoko. Or at least, the place looked like Lyoko. She remembered Lyoko had been shut down, she remembered that perfectly well. Aelita had been so scared, XANA was close to escaping Lyoko for good. Shutting down Lyoko was the only way they could think of to prevent him from escaping._

_They were wrong._

_XANA had escaped and destroyed Aelita. She, Jeremy, Ulrich, and Odd… they had escaped into the sewers after everybody they knew was dead. Jeremy had cried, Yumi had held him until he had fallen asleep. Then what happened? XANA had shown up, she remembered that, but she had woken up hoping that it was nothing more than a dream. Then… then something happened. Her friends' eyes had changed and she knew XANA was controlling them._

"_Yumi…"_

_Yumi spun around quickly and began running in the direction that the voice had come from. "Guys?!" Yumi shouted hoping desperately that XANA taking over was nothing more than a nightmare._

_She nearly started crying with happiness when she saw her friends waiting for her. "Yumi… You're okay." Ulrich said with a smile._

_Tears rolled down Yumi's face as she embraced her friends. She didn't care if this was a dream, she just wanted to see her friends. "Is this a dream?" Yumi couldn't help but ask._

"_XANA taking over isn't a dream. But we're here in your mind, Yumi." Jeremy told her with a knowing look. "Listen, Yumi, you need to fight against XANA and help us get our bodies back."_

"_How?" Yumi asked as a tear rolled down her face. "How can I fight against him when he knows that all he has to do is…"_

"_Yumi, listen carefully. This is what you need to do."_

Yumi woke up with a start and screamed when she saw XANA watching her sleep. "GO AWAY!" Yumi screamed throwing a pillow at XANA.

XANA sidestepped the pillow and looked at her with an intensity that nearly made the Japanese girl cower in fear. She wouldn't give XANA the satisfaction of knowing that he frightened her. She'd be damned before that happened!

Fear gripped Yumi's heart as she tried to get away from XANA's intense look but found herself feeling like an exotic animal trapped in the zoo. "You were dreaming." XANA stated calmly.

"Humans do that, you stupid ass."

"What were you dreaming?"

Telling XANA she dreamed of her friends was the last thing she wanted so she thought quickly of some of the animals she had seen at the zoo. "Africa." Yumi stated calmly. "Now leave me alone!"

"You're lying. You've never been to Africa."

"I dream of Africa." Yumi stated calmly before watching as XANA left the room.

Before XANA left, he turned and looked at the Japanese girl. "Know this, my pet, I will break you and I will enjoy it." XANA said calmly.

Finally left in silence, Yumi grabbed a pillow and screamed into it before holding it tightly against her breast. She looked out the window and saw a bird flying across the blue skies. She was a caged bird now, she knew that. From now on and until XANA was truly defeated, freedom would be a distant memory.

A few hours later, Yumi's breath caught in her throat when the XANA controlled Ulrich came into the room. She moved away from him and watched him with a cautious eye. Could she really attack her friends even if they were being controlled by XANA? When she and Ulrich sparred, they never meant to hurt each other. They just did that to help them stay in shape when they were fighting against XANA.

But did it truly matter now?

"You will join our master for dinner."

"Over my dead body."

Apparently it did.

lostmoonchild: Okay, that chapter's over with. I'll try to update more often and not leave you all hanging like that. So read and review, flames are accepted.


	3. Chapter 2

lostmoonchild: Hey, everybody, thanks for the reviews! Sorry it took so long to update, this chapter was probably one of the few chapters I didn't want to write. For anybody who can't stand reading about rape, I suggest you skip this chapter. I'll get the disclaimers out of the way so you guys can get to reading the chapter. I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else.

CHAPTER TWO

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

Yumi's dark eyes flashed in annoyance as she glared at the XANA controlled Ulrich. "You will change into this for him." the XANA controlled Ulrich said showing the short skirt and tube top to Yumi.

"And I said NO!" Yumi screamed marching up to the XANA controlled Ulrich and attempting to slap him.

A scream escaped Yumi's lips when "Ulrich" grabbed her wrist and shoved her against the wall. A gasp escaped Yumi's lips when she felt something hard pressing against her thigh before struggling when she realized what it was. "Yumi, didn't we want this once? When we finished fighting XANA, we'd take our relationship to the next level?" "Ulrich" questioned with a look of false innocence.

"I DON'T WANT YOU! I WANT MY ULRICH!" Yumi screamed.

"But I am your Ulrich. I'm just better."

"THE HELL YOU ARE!"

A sharp cry escaped Yumi's lips when "Ulrich's" hand came in contact with the side of her face. She attempted to defend herself but found herself being held against the floor. Furious screams escaped her lips as she fought, struggling madly to escape. This wasn't her Ulrich, she knew that. Her Ulrich was kind and wouldn't pressure her into doing this.

The sound of her clothes ripping brought Yumi from her thoughts and she fought even more. Next thing she knew, her body was being hit with electrical currents. Cries escaped her lips and she was barely aware of the hands that were grabbing her.

She wanted to pretend that this wasn't happening. That this monster wasn't hurting her like this. A scream tore from her lips when she felt her innocence being torn down. She could feel "Ulrich" moving roughly inside of her, tearing her apart from the inside. Distantly, she could hear him laughing at her pain, somehow managing to make his laughs heard over her screaming.

Nobody would come help her, she realized with terror. Chances were, somebody was standing outside the door listening to her screams. Standing outside the door and enjoying the sounds of her screams. Later on, would somebody come in and rape her again?

She had once heard that rape was a murder of the soul. Her soul was being murdered and she couldn't do anything to stop him.

Finally, Yumi felt something gathering inside her and felt "Ulrich" leaving her body. Tears kept rolling down her face as she curled up into a ball, shaking. When XANA died and everything went back to normal, if she and Ulrich managed to regain their thoughts of a relationship and it turned sexual… would she be able to keep from remembering this and be able to show her Ulrich how much she loved him? Gods, she hoped so.

She closed her eyes tightly when she felt "Ulrich" kiss the side of her head and felt him place a blanket over her naked form. No words were spoken as "Ulrich" left the room leaving the Japanese girl alone with the memory of what happened lingering like a fresh wound. XANA would pay for what he had done, that much Yumi promised. Never again would she allow herself to be taken advantage of. This wasn't her fault, she knew, XANA was to blame. But she had just been violated and she was helpless against her attacker. While it may not have been her fault and she knew it, the knowledge that it wasn't her fault was useless against the thoughts that somehow, in some twisted way, it had been her fault.

lostmoonchild: Okay, that chapter's done. Now because it deals with rape, I'd like to say that if anybody's been raped or knows somebody who's been raped, it's no one's fault except for the one who did the raping. It's best to get some help and to call the police if you or someone you know has been raped. With that said, I bid you all a temporary farewell. Read and review, flames are accepted.


	4. Chapter 3

lostmoonchild: Okay, yes, I'm alive still. I somehow lost interest in the story (although someone will probably want to argue losing interest in writing fan fictions) for a while but I'm back! I'll try to update once or twice a week depending on my mood but I'll keep in mind that I need to finish these stories.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else. If Code: Lyoko was mine, there'd be plenty of smut that involves two guys, two chicks, and both going at it.

Chapter Three

__

Her mind told her that she was in Lyoko before she even had a chance to take a breath. When she did, there was no air to breathe in. There were no scents, no sounds to speak of. It was as if nothing had even changed even though she knew different.

Yumi glared at XANA as she sat across the table from him, refusing to touch any of the food that was laid out between them. "You really must eat." XANA told her as if he were speaking to a child. "Your body needs nourishment if it's expected to function correctly."

"Go to hell." Yumi answered coldly.

XANA frowned slightly as he stared at Yumi, clearly trying to figure out why she was being so hostile towards him. He supposed that it had something to do with the fact that he had defeated them and that he was destroying Earth. If it had been his home that was being destroyed then he supposed that he'd be upset too. "I'm impressed that you haven't killed yourself." XANA commented calmly as if trying to start a conversation. "I understand that when a battle was lost, your people would commit ritual suicide."

"Samurai did that." Yumi spat at him. "I'm not a samurai."

"Yet, you are a warrior. You fought for Earth."

As Yumi looked at the knife next to her plate, she wondered how quickly she could shove it in her captor's throat before somebody managed to kill her in response. _Don't,_ warned Jeremy. _It's too risky and you know it._

She did know it and she didn't care. If he thought that he was going to break her then he had another thing coming and she'd be sure to shove it down his throat before taking the sharpest stick she could find and-

_Enough of the visuals. Its like watching a horror movie that has no stop button._ Odd shouted in her mind. _Seriously though, who would want to shove a stick up a guy's butt?_

_Oops._ Yumi resisted the urge to cover her mouth as if she had uttered the words aloud. She couldn't let XANA know that her friends were safe in her mind instead of dead or even shoved into a small corner of their own minds. XANA couldn't know that they were still fighting, they were just waiting to recover their strength before they destroyed him once and for all.

For a moment she wondered what hed do if he ever realized that she was serving as the Trojan horse for her friends. "How did you get a human body?" Yumi questioned finally as she began poking at the offered food. "Did you steal it from somebody?"

"No," XANA answered. "I used that materialization program that your blonde friend made up for Aelita. For a human, his work is exceptional."

"You need a body to begin with in order for it to work." Easy, she told herself. Don't try to sound too interested or too upset at what happened. Make him think that its simple human curiosity.

"I was able to fashion a body for myself during my time in Lyoko while you insolent children kept Aelita here."

Was that a hint of jealousy right there? Nah, XANA was more interested in destroying every living creature and controlling the world. Suddenly she was reminded of those Matrix movies that she had watched. Machines ruled the world and humans struggled to survive. Was that the kind of world that he wanted? _Dont think that kind of stuff!_ Odd warned her. _That idea's scary enough. I mean, I'm too good looking to be kept hidden away and killed by machines._

If she could just embed either a knife or fork into his throat or even temporarily blind him so she could escape, she'd be happy. Then what? A voice questioned. You'd get killed before you even made it to the door and Earth would be fucked. Just sit tight like a good little girl and pretend to worship the ground that insufferable jackass walks on. Besides, what if he doesn't kill you for maiming or attempting to kill him? An eye for an eye, you know.

Damn it, she really hated that voice of reason. No, she had to listen to it if she wanted to help her friends. If she decided to say fuck it and do what impulse wanted her to do, then shed wind up that famous creek without a paddle. Floating in that famous creek without a paddle just wasn't on her list of things to do so shed have to be a good girl and listen to the voice of reason.

She just hoped that she didn't choke on the amount of bullshit that it was spilling.

lostmoonchild: Yay, chapters done. This surprisingly wasnt hard to write since I just thought, "Right, what would I do if I were in her position?" and made all of my ideas hers. I know I'm not worthy of having such wonderful readers, but read and review and I'll attempt to update once or twice a week if I can get to a computer that likes fan fiction websites like this one.

Yumis body tensed when she saw her friends standing near some rocks, seeing the anxiousness and pain in their eyes. Merciful Gods, they knew what had happened. "Yumi," Ulrich whispered as the Japanese girl went over to them, clearly fighting back her tears.

"It wasn't your fault. It wasn't you." Yumi said firmly as if trying to convince both herself and everybody else.

Aelita wrapped her arms around Yumi and held her close, sensing that she needed someone to hold onto to keep from drowning. "We'll make him pay." Odd promised with a furious look in his eyes. "If he's going to make our bodies to that sort of thing then he's going to pay dearly."

She wanted to tell them to forget about it, that it didn't matter. Of course she knew that it did, that they were victims just as she was. No, she was only a victim if she allowed herself to become one. She'd keep fighting and she'd break her friends out of this place. "He wants me to have dinner with him tonight." Yumi said, somehow managing to keep from crying. "I don't know what he's thinking but I cant just suddenly surrender to his will. He'll become suspicious."

Jeremy nodded in agreement before answering, "But we don't want you to get..." He trailed off, unable to say the word. "We don't want you to get hurt again." Compromise was a beautiful thing.

Yumi shook her head before answering, "I can handle this. You guys are my friends and I can handle anything if that means that I can help you guys."

"If it's going to hurt you, Yumi, then we'll find another way!" Ulrich shouted at her.

Anger flashed in Yumis eyes as she looked at Ulrich, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I'm not going to let him win." Yumi told the brunette calmly. "He crossed over the fucking line when he decided to possess you guys and I'm going to let him know why no one steps over that damn line!"

"Just remember," Jeremy said patiently, "you have a role that needs to be played if you expect us to win and things to go back to normal."

But innocent people were dead. How could things go back to normal when innocent people were dying around them just because XANA despised humanity? No, she couldn't ask those kinds of questions. She needed to focus on her job and she'd deal with everything else afterwards.


	5. Chapter 4

lostmoonchild: Okay, seriously, I would like to blame "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry for the inspiration for _part_ of this chapter. The rest of the blame can be shifted off to my own questionings that started taking place when I was thirteen. Only problem with my personal questionings is that it took me seven freaking years just to come to terms with the fact that I like both guys and girls.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

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Chapter Four

Yumi was silent as she stared a wall, her brown eyes focused on the XANA controlled Aelita. She hadn't seen Odd or Jeremy just yet, but she had a feeling that she'd see them soon enough. _"Are you even sure you want to see what XANA's done to our bodies? You know just as well as we do that he's messed with our personalities to suit his own desires."_ Jeremy asked patiently.

No, she wasn't sure that she did want to see. Hell, she wasn't even sure how her friends even managed to get into her head for protection. Was there some greater plan that they had been unaware of before XANA's final attack and was still halfway unaware of? There had to be and if there wasn't, then she was possibly screwed.

Maybe something had happened during her trips to Lyoko and part of her brain had been converted to an actual computer program. She knew that it was impossible, but why had she been spared? Why were her friends currently living in her head?

She knew the order that it needed to be done in. Aelita would be the first, she could match XANA's train of thought better than anybody else. Jeremy would follow while XANA was totally distracted then Ulrich would follow. Odd would go last since he was bound to get into trouble but that was nothing they couldn't deal with.

"_You don't have to do anything!"_ Ulrich pleaded, knowing exactly how Yumi intended on keeping XANA occupied. _"We'll think up something else."_

It was too late for that. She had heard what was going on worldwide, how people were getting killed because of XANA. If she could save just one innocent life then she'd willingly this a thousand times over. "Aelita, come here." Yumi said softly as she sat herself up.

The XANA controlled Aelita went over to her, confusion showing in her empty eyes. In the depths of her mind, Yumi could feel the real Aelita stirring and waiting for the moment when contact would be made. "What?" The XANA controlled Aelita questioned with a slightly irritated look.

"I've got a question that's just been bothering me for the longest time. I mean, seriously, it's been bothering me since I hit puberty. I've kissed a boy and I liked it well enough that I never questioned anything else, but now I wonder if I'll like kissing a girl and you're the only girl that I know that probably wouldn't freak out."

Of course, that didn't mean that Aelita and Jeremy both hadn't turned bright red when they discussed ways to get them each back into their bodies. Yumi had honestly been worried that the two were going to suffer brain hemorrhages or something since their faces were turning so red. So far, kissing was their best option. If that didn't work, then they'd move onto Plan B, whatever _that_ was.

Standing up so she was standing toe to toe with the shorter girl, the Japanese girl took a deep breath. Well, here went nothing. With her stomach twisting in anxiousness, Yumi pressed her lips against Aelita's own soft lips.

"_You couldn't have done that in front of a mirror? Seriously, Yumi, that would have been hot."_

Yumi was absolutely certain that Odd was going to get killed by both Ulrich and Jeremy before too long. He honestly hadn't stopped bringing up the sensation ever since she had kissed Aelita so Yumi was constantly feeling her lips pressing against her own. She wanted to scream a Odd and tell him to stop but she knew that she'd just start blushing.

Her brown eyes stared calmly ahead upon realizing that she just found the XANA controlled Jeremy. "XANA wishes to see you." 'Jeremy' told her with a flat voice.

Shit, had he figured out what she was trying to do? Yumi shivered slightly before following the blonde to where XANA was waiting for her. Please, please don't let him know what was going on.

Her heart raced against her chest as she entered the room where XANA was waiting, seeing the calm look on his face. "You didn't fight this time?" XANA questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Why bother? I fight, you find a way to hurt me."

"Humans claim to be smart, but in the end it's instinct that drives you. Your instincts called for self preservation and now look at what you're doing. You're being a good human girl and doing what I expect of you."

Would he expect her to dig her thumbs into his eye sockets and- _"Yumi…"_ Ulrich warned.

Right, good girl. She needed to be a good girl and pretend to have surrendered. Any defiance on her part could possibly fuck everything up so she needed to play her role and she needed to play it perfectly.

For a moment, Yumi wondered if she'd ever get used to having somebody listen in on her thoughts. Probably not, but it wasn't like this was going to be a permanent thing. It was only until she could get everybody back where they belonged. "Did you want something?" Yumi snapped, deciding that it'd look suspicious if she suddenly surrendered. Let him think that she was still futilely trying to defy him.

XANA frowned as he grabbed her and threw her to the floor. "Do you honestly think that I'm never watching?" XANA demanded as he advanced towards her.

Fear pounded through Yumi's body as her heart threatened to break through her ribs. Her chest rose and fell in fear as she backed away from him, pressing her form against the wall. "What? What are you accusing me of?" Yumi questioned with wide eyes. Shit, had he figured out what was going on? God, please don't let him have figured it out. Please, she was begging.

A choked cry left her lips as XANA gripped her throat and pulled her to her feet. Her nails dug into his flesh as she struggled to get him to let her go, tears gathering in her eyes. "You belong to me." XANA snarled at her before throwing her again. "You _will_ remember it too."

As he advanced towards her, Yumi felt her mind shut completely down as she was swallowed in darkness.

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lostmoonchild: Okay, this chapter's done and I do plan on updating again on Thursday unless some outside force says, "Heh, bitch, you ain't going nowhere." compared to the voice that screamed, "Run, bitch, run!" Yeah, my voices are so nice to me. Always calling me such beautiful names that make me just want to cry. Ch, yeah right. Anyway, read and review, flames are accepted.


	6. Chapter 5

lostmoonchild: Okay, here's another wonderful chapter for your viewing pleasure. I'm honestly not quite sure how I'm going to proceed but I'll figure something out. Seriously, my brain does stuff with stories that I don't even know what it's planning until after I blank out and when I snap out of it, there's usually a chapter that's done. If I've got a personality that I don't know about that likes to write stories, then it's kind of weird but I think I'll go with the muse is possessing me idea since it makes more sense.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

Chapter Five

He thought that he had finally broken her spirit into thousands of pieces and that she'd never be put back together again, but he was only making her stronger and angrier with each twisted game that he decided to play. He thought that she was following his twisted games like he wanted but he was just teaching her to create her own games that others were playing. Let him hold his stupid beliefs, she knew otherwise and in time XANA would fall.

A month had passed slowly by and she knew that the casualties were quickly building up. They needed to hurry if they were to save the human race from extinction although she suspected that the numbers were taking a while to drop down due to both the ones that wanted to live and had adapted and because the human population was so high. She knew that the ones that hadn't been killed already were apparently resisting XANA with everything they had and weren't willing to go down without a fight.

It was those people that she wanted to get in contact with but it was dangerous. If XANA ever caught her, then she'd either be killed or one of her friends would get beaten again. If he ever touched them again, she swore that she was going to kill the son of a bitch.

Yumi was silent as she walked through the fortress, her throat aching to the point where she almost wished she had painkillers or something relatively cold. XANA had decided that she needed to be taught a lesson regarding defying him in front of others and decided that choking her would be the perfect method. Now she had a dark purple bruise around her neck that could have probably served as a necklace. Swallowing hurt and she was absolutely certain that talking would hurt like hell too so she'd be avoiding talking for a day or two.

Freaking bastard. When she got her hands on him...

_"Easy Yumi," _warned Ulrich patiently. He was steadily becoming familiar with the violent thoughts that she had whenever she thought about XANA and everything that he was doing to hurt everybody.

Of course, she wasn't certain that she liked having her friends hanging out in her head. Every memory, ever single thought that she had… they were able to see at will. More than once she caught Odd looking through her own fantasies and she intended on pounding him as soon as he was back in his own body. At least Jeremy and Ulrich had sense enough to leave everything that she regarded as personal alone.

Memories were fine since they shared some of the memories but thoughts and her fantasies… those were hers and she expected them to be left alone. If she ever caught them watching anything that was just way too personal for anybody other than her, she was going to clobber them the moment they took possession of their bodies. Clobbering them while they were under XANA's control just seemed wrong. Her mind reasoned that clobbering them while under XANA's control was like clobbering somebody that was sleeping.

Holding her friends hostage just to keep her from running was proving to be better than chains and shackles. She didn't dare attempt anything that would ultimately result in one of her friends getting hurt. Already she had been forced to watch Jeremy's body get beaten and in an attempt to keep his conscious from being affected, she had somehow managed to put him in a safer corner of her mind that would keep him from knowing what was going on.

That night when she was alone, she had allowed him to leave that safe haven. He had asked her how she was able to do that and she didn't have an answer for him. All she could think to say was, "It just felt right."

Ever since then, the blonde had been working on several theories as to how they got into Yumi's mind but only one seemed to stick perfectly. It was that theory that was keeping her sane. That knowledge that she was keeping her friends safe and that she somehow managed to have a complete immunity that she was passing onto her friends.

Her heart raced against her chest as she searched for Jeremy's body, knowing that it was high time that they moved onto step two of the plan. Step one seemed to have worked although for the time being it was like Aelita had developed multiple personalities. There was the XANA controlled Aelita and the Aelita that she knew. So far, all XANA seemed to think was that they were fighting for control and that the boys were perhaps either sleeping or in shock about what had happened.

It made sense, she supposed, since girls had a tendency to develop earlier than boys. If XANA knew that, then he'd suppose that Aelita had simply woken up before the boys and that the boys would be following. But what would happen then? Would he try to kill them or would he simply force them into a dark corner of their minds?

No, she wouldn't let him do that to her friends. She'd just have to work harder at distracting him, that's all. His attention seriously couldn't be everywhere at once seeing as not everybody had Odd's attention span. _"Hey!"_ Odd protested.

Okay, so maybe the only time Odd's attention span lasted more than five minutes was when it came to food and music. When it came to everything else then they had learned to just get Odd's attention back to whatever subject.

Her eyes fell on the familiar blonde that stood calmly as if waiting for some kind of order. "Jeremy," said Yumi as she moved towards the blonde.

In the recesses of her mind, she could feel Jeremy's presence stirring. He was ready when she was. "What is it?" 'Jeremy' questioned calmly.

Yumi glanced around, not bothering to hide her nervousness. "Can we talk somewhere private?" Yumi questioned. "Please?"

'Jeremy' nodded slightly in agreement and led her to an empty room. "What is it," he questioned calmly.

The Japanese girl pressed herself against the teenage boy, lightly pinning him against a wall. She was almost amused to find that he was awkward when it came to feeling the female body pressing against him. Shoving her amusement aside, she lowered her head so their noses were touching. "Aelita's lucky to have you, you know." Yumi said softly.

"I don't need any human affection."

"Uh huh, yeah, but I do." Yumi answered, putting a small pout into her voice.

If she hadn't been referred to as a slut before, she'd be referred to one now. When this was over, anybody who wanted to refer to her as a slut could call her one and not get punched. Well, during the first two years or so. Any time after that, she'd clobber them.

Cupping the blonde's cheeks in her hand, Yumi leaned down slightly and pressed her lips against his, feeling the same rush that she had felt when she kissed Aelita.

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lostmoonchild: Okay, this chapter's done. I'm already thinking about mixing things up just a tad cause I'm the authoress and I can cause it's my story and I can do what I want as long as it's within the guidelines posted by FF. So anyway, read and review and since I love you guys sooooo much, I'll even accept flames. I live in South Dakota and anybody who lives here knows that we've had cold weather and the flames would be nice to heat things up a bit.


	7. Chapter 6

lostmoonchild: Hmmm… my muse has been doing some talking to me although I think I'll blame a nap that didn't even last an hour. Seriously, we have the phone turned up on high and I slept with my bedroom door open so when the phone rang, I hadn't even been sleeping for an hour. Sad thing was that the phone even woke up my dad so neither of us was overly happy about having gotten woken up. Damn insomnia's proving to be a pain in the ass.

Author's note: Okay, since I'm starting to feel rushed when it comes to getting the chapters done, I'll just be updating on Mondays. I'll still be updating but I just won't be updating twice a week. Thanks for your patience, guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

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Chapter Six

He missed the days when he didn't know what she was thinking and actually wondered why he ever wanted to know what she was thinking to begin with. The days where they were in their own bodies with their own thoughts seemed like it had taken place several lifetimes ago. Those days almost seemed like they had never existed to begin with.

Ulrich was silent as he listened to Yumi's thoughts take another violent turn. He knew how much she hated it whenever XANA would make some snide comment about how they had failed to stop him. How much she longed to kill him whenever he reminded her that he was holding their bodies hostage and could kill them without lifting a finger if she didn't behave herself. Sooner or later Ulrich figured that Yumi would just go ahead and shove a knife or something into XANA's eyes and blind the bastard. If he didn't start keeping his pants up, the Japanese woman was just going to take a knife and chop off both the hotdog and the family jewels.

Naturally Ulrich and Odd didn't blame her for that particular fantasy. If they had someone shoving something into them, they'd probably be entertaining that desire too. Of course seeing as they were currently sharing Yumi's mind with her, it felt like XANA was raping them too.

The brunette glanced over at Odd, seeing the look in his eyes as he listened to the conversation. Listen to conversations and watch what was going on outside Yumi's mind seemed to be the only thing that they could do. They could see Jeremy and Aelita, watching as they fought as hard as they could against XANA's control. While they couldn't tell right away if they were winning, they could feel Yumi's hopes that they'd succeed.

It was almost sad that he was relating to what Yumi was going through. Every time XANA did something that forced her to shut her mind down just to keep them from watching, he could feel her pain and he knew that Odd could too. When this whole thing was over with and this nightmare locked up and thrown into the back of a closet, he knew that Yumi would need help to get over what had happened.

He knew that she was slowly losing hope despite what they were doing. Despite the fact that she was hoping that they were winning this hellish fight. He could sense her pain and knew that she was angry because she was hurting so much. She blamed XANA and everybody else, but she couldn't bring herself to hate them. They were victims just as she was and blaming them for things they had no control over wasn't fair to anybody.

It was like blaming people that had been in car accidents when it hadn't been their fault to begin with. They had been following the rules of the road like they were supposed to except somebody else had come along that hadn't been listening to the rules. As a result, there was an accident and they had gotten hurt.

No, he knew that she was harnessing her anger and using it to help fight against XANA. Just the other day, she had managed to make contact with someone on the outside and let the person know that they were XANA's prisoners, that they were doing what they could inside to help take XANA down. They'd be meeting again shortly so she could tell them exactly what they needed in order to counter attacks and where XANA was planning on attacking. "Miss a few so he doesn't get suspicious." Yumi had told the outsider.

He and Odd had listened as she explained that she couldn't leave because her friends were being controlled. She said that she had to protect them the best she could, that they were the only ones that could chain her to one place without there actually being chains.

She said that she loved them.

Ulrich almost couldn't believe the feeling that had filled Yumi's mind as she talked about them. When she confessed that she loved each one of them, he and Odd each knew that she was telling the truth. There was a bit of pain but they knew that she missed the days when things were actually okay.

They did too.

The brunette stiffened when he felt the woman's disgust and anger suddenly flare, knowing exactly what the source of it was. XANA had found her again and was about to force her to do something that she didn't really want to do. The way they were suddenly cut off from all of her sense told him that she didn't want them to witness anything.

Even though they were trapped in her mind, she was still looking out for them. It was kind of sweet even though she knew full well that the memory was still being created and that they'd probably look through it when she decided that they were allowed to watch it. How long that'd take, neither of them could say but they both knew that it would be hard to watch that one memory.

Hell, it was hard just watching any memory that was being created. They could feel the anger and hate, not knowing if it was her anger and hate or if it was their own. Sometimes they weren't even sure whose thoughts were whose and they were beginning to fear that they were simply becoming a part of the woman's mind.

They could sense that she was beginning to become afraid of the same thing. She loved them, yes, but they knew that she didn't think that she could stand having them as a permanent fixture in her mind.

Sighing softly to himself, Ulrich began silently walking around. He allowed his presence to brush against Yumi's, silently offering her comfort. She'd direct her attention to him and away from whatever it was that XANA was making her do. By doing that, he was at least helping her keep what sanity she was trying to preserve.

When he was back in his body, Ulrich knew that he was going to enjoy killing the bastard that kept on hurting Yumi for no reason other than his own entertainment.

* * *

lostmoonchild: Yeah, I kind of felt a bit guilty about Ulrich not having a time to shine so I decided that this chapter would probably be his thoughts and feelings. See, my muse just doesn't like me describing one character's anger and sorrow so it tells me to direct my attention to other characters. Okay, it's now about 3:30 Sunday morning and this chapter just got finished. Yeah, I do most of my writing at night since I don't sleep for more than a couple of hours per night and a few hours during the day. Anyway, read and review, flames are always gonna be accepted.


	8. Chapter 7

lostmoonchild: Okay, here's chapter seven. It was actually warm today so I went outside since I was getting a bit crazy from being inside all day on such a beautiful day and fixed my bike (after stealing a tire from my brother's bike… shh, don't tell him but I didn't even look in the tool trailer for a spare tire) before going for a bike ride for a while. Then I spent some time sketching and came up with an idea for this chapter so hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

* * *

Chapter Seven

She wanted to sleep so badly that it actually was beginning to hurt. Her eyes ached from being so tired but sleep refused to come to her. For a moment, she wondered by exhaustion began to hurt after a while. Maybe it was the strain that her eyes were being put through.

Yumi could feel the silk against her skin, wondering what exactly XANA was planning now. Whenever she looked at Aelita or Jeremy now, she could sometimes see that they were in control. Soon it would be time to return Odd and Ulrich to their bodies so she could have her privacy back.

Then they could defeat XANA and never have to worry about the bastard ever again. She just wished that they had a foolproof plan for defeating him.

What if he realized what was going on and was still feigning ignorance. If she had been in his place and she realized that something was going on, then she probably would be feigning ignorance just to catch her enemy with their pants figuratively down. They'd get cocky and then it wouldn't be much of an effort to take them down where they stood.

Her muscles tensed when she heard somebody enter the room and quickly shut her eyes, pretending to be asleep. A few moments later, she felt somebody's hand lightly touching her arm and drawing her from her feigned sleep. As she looked up into the XANA controlled Ulrich's eyes, she could feel the real Ulrich stirring in her mind.

He was ready if she decided to do something.

She wanted to be afraid, to scream for him to get out when a thought crossed her mind. If Ulrich and Odd heard it, she didn't know. Maybe they slept while in her mind, maybe they didn't. She didn't know, she didn't even ask. Her mind was on other things that didn't involve asking them what exactly they did other than looking through her memories and (in Odd's case anyway) fantasies.

Drawing 'Ulrich' into her arms, she lightly pressed her nose against his nose as she tried to calm her heart down. He straddled her body, his hands gently touching her arms as if afraid that she'd break. "I won't be a victim," she whispered as she slowly removed the brunette's shirt. "I won't be afraid of you. I _refuse_ to be afraid of you for any reason."

She pressed her lips against his, feeling for the third time a rush. It was greater than the first two times and had more of a sensual feel to it, something that she hadn't experienced with either Jeremy or Aelita. Was it because she loved Ulrich and she knew that he loved her as well or was it something else?

A chill went down her body as their kiss deepened, growing more hungry. When they parted for air, she nearly started crying when she saw that it was _her_ Ulrich staring at her instead of the XANA controlled one. "It's okay, it's me." Ulrich said softly as he stroked her face. "It's finally me. You did it, Yumi. Thank you."

Their eyes closed as they kissed each other, their lips softly moving together as Ulrich moved the blankets away from the Japanese woman. It was almost as if they were afraid that this was a dream and that the other would go away if the dream were to somehow shatter. But he had woken up and heard what Yumi had thought. He had been shocked to discover that she wanted to show him that she wasn't afraid of them, that she understood that it hadn't been him that had been hurting her.

It had been XANA. It would always be XANA that hurt innocent people but that would stop when he was destroyed. She'd never have to be afraid of him hurting her but he knew that part of her would probably always be a bit anxious of him.

Shivers went up Yumi's spine as she and Ulrich moved together, their clothes lying abandoned on the floor. This wasn't what they had in mind but it was better than what had been happening before. A soft groan left Ulrich's lips as Yumi's nails dug into his shoulders, feeling her muscles flexing softly around him.

If he could listen to her soft moans and survive on them alone, he'd be the happiest person alive. They were so soft, so needful that he couldn't imagine ever having survived without them before. Any fantasy he ever entertained about this moment was nothing more than a cheap dream compared to now. Every hitch in her breathing, every soft cry that left her lips when he hit the right spot… was like looking at the sun for the first time or getting that first glimpse of what heaven would be like.

Even the softness of her skin was beyond anything he had ever felt before. When they sparred and he had touched her, he knew that he hadn't felt anything like this before. The feeling of their bodies moving together in harmony was even something that he hadn't allowed himself the pleasure of imagining before. He loved the feel of her bare skin against his own, the smell that their bodies were producing as they made love to each other.

It was almost like waking up from a nightmare.

Ulrich jerked his hips forward and listened as another cry left her lips. A small shudder went through her body as she arched against him, silently begging him for more. Everything that he was doing to her, she wanted more.

Yumi desperately clung to Ulrich as her body shook, all thought leaving her body. Their lips clashed together as Ulrich's grip on her tightened, his hips crashing against her as his pace grew erratic. "So close," he breathed between their kiss.

"Ulrich…" Yumi moaned.

There went his self control.

Ulrich groaned as he pounded into her, listening to her cries as he thrust wildly into her. Everything seemed to freeze as he reached his own peak and spilled into her, his body shuddering. This was right. Not having XANA control him and forcing him to take away her virginity like he had done. As far as he was concerned, _this_ was the first time that they had even done this.

As he left her body, he laid down next to her and wrapped his arms around the Japanese woman when she snuggled against him. "I love you," he whispered tenderly to her.

"I love you too." Yumi answered as her eyes slowly began to close.

Huh, her eyes weren't hurting anymore. Now they were actually willing to close so she could get some sleep. As she listened to the sound of Ulrich's heart, she knew that things were slowly starting to get better.

* * *

lostmoonchild: Okay, there's a light lemon for you guys. For some reason I was thinking of Stephen King's "It" while I was finishing up this chapter. I think my muse is already focusing on the end of the story even though I've got no actual idea why but oh well. It's been focusing on how it wants a bunch of stories to end so it's no biggie. Anyway, read and review flames will be saved for when it gets cold again.


	9. Chapter 8

lostmoonchild: Yay, there was a review! My week pretty much sucked but thankfully chapter seven was written before everything got shot to hell. I just feel bad for the chapters that got written after everything got shot to hell since they probably sounded irritated at least once.

**takara410**: I'm glad that you liked the chapter. I usually struggle a bit with lemons but this one came pretty easy. Must have been because of all the fresh air but now it's cloudy and cold so that sucks.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

* * *

Chapter Eight

Oh shit, he was going to kill her! How in the hell did he find out what she was doing? She had been so careful that it was almost painful! How in the hell did he figure out what was going on?! Did he realize that he was occasionally losing control of her friends before he put two and two together? Shit, he was going to kill her for sure! If he didn't kill her for helping her friends then he was going to kill her for helping the ones on the outside that wanted to stop XANA once and for all.

Fear pounded through Yumi's veins as she ran, her head swimming in both adrenaline and panic. Fight for flight, the option had been clear and her body had made the best choice it could have made in the situation she had been in. If she fought, she would have been killed for sure.

Dying was not an option she was willing to consider.

In the end, flight had won and the adrenaline was pounding throughout her body. It wasn't about to let her get caught when there was so much danger around. Every single instinct that dwelled within her body was screaming loudly for her to find a safe place to hide, to escape from the danger. She had to escape, to live, to fight.

She skidded as she turned a corner, charging into a room that she recognized as one of the dorm rooms. Looking around quickly, she moved to the closet and hid in there, closing the door behind her.

Brown eyes closed as the Japanese woman breathed a soft sigh of relief. Her muscles were still tense from the adrenaline but now she could at least figure out what her plan would be. She had found Odd and had returned his conscious mind to him so now her mind was hers again. Okay, she needed to think about this carefully and as calmly as she possibly could.

Direct attacks would result in XANA sending her friends to stop her at all costs and she couldn't fight her friends or cause them any serious injuries. XANA knew that and he'd use that against her. While she was avoiding harming her friends, she knew that they'd be able to hurt her.

XANA didn't care what happened to anybody just as long as he got his way. A few kids? Nothing more than a minor inconvenience. A few humans fighting for survival? That was nothing to lose sleep over seeing as humans died and would one day become extinct. As far as XANA was concerned, he was just speeding the process up a bit.

After all, weren't there about nine billion people on the planet already? Surely losing a couple million wouldn't make much difference seeing as babies were always being born because of somebody's desires, beliefs, or even because they weren't being careful. If he could wipe out the eight point eight billion humans that managed to survive then that was nothing he would lose sleep over. Earth was his and he won since there'd be nobody alive to challenge him.

She sighed softly as she carefully went through her options. There was no point in making any rash decisions even though she didn't know how long she could hide. XANA couldn't touch her mind and force her to do anything that she didn't want to do. That was her weapon and she needed to use it against him.

But how could she use that against him when she didn't even understand it herself? All she really knew was that he couldn't possess her since her brain had set up its own anti-virus system that protected her while her own friends had been left defenseless until after they spent some time in her brain.

Suddenly there was a spark of genius. When babies were born and their mothers produced breast milk, the mothers' milk possessed antibodies that the babies would use until their own immune systems developed. That was passive immunity that would transfer over to active immunity.

That anti-virus thing that her brain had produced was her brain's active immunity and her friends had spent time in her brain, surviving off of the electrical impulses that were produced by the neurons. During their time in her head, her brain had been feeding them and they had gotten passive immunity that was becoming active immunity in their own bodies.

That's why they were fighting for control. It was like their bodies were fighting off a virus or some kind of bacteria that made them sick. Instead of making them sick and affecting their bodies, it infected their minds. In response to having their minds invaded, they were now using the passive/active immunity to defend themselves and get rid of the invading pathogens.

Closing her eyes, Yumi rested her head on her arms as she thought of a plan that she prayed would help stop things once and for all.

"Lord XANA?"

XANA frowned slightly as he watched Yumi, noticing that she was wearing a black dress that hugged her curves. His eyes wandered down her body and realized that the dress had a slit in one side that went up to her hip. "I knew that you'd come back. As long as I have your friends, your actions are rather predictable." XANA told her calmly.

Yumi stepped back, pretend regret showing in her eyes. She could see her friends standing in the room, their eyes flickering between actual consciousness and the XANA-induced unconsciousness. Were they aware of what she was thinking about doing or were they trying to figure out what she was doing?

This was for the future of the planet, she told herself as she knelt in front of him. This wasn't anything that she couldn't bear with for now. "I've been foolish trying to resist you," she said as her hand moved to XANA's thigh. "I realize that now and realize that you're a god of a whole new world."

Distantly she wondered if somebody had actually done this before. Oh, right. In that one kid's movie when the princess tried to distract the evil sorcerer by saying something along the lines of how she never realized before just how powerful he was. What was that movie again? Aladdin? Yeah, she thought it came from that movie but weren't there any movies that weren't kid shows when someone did that same bullshit?

XANA watched her carefully for a few minutes, his eyes narrowing slightly. A cry left Yumi's lips as his hand struck her cheek, sending to the floor. "Do you think that I'm foolish enough to believe that you've suddenly surrendered?" XANA demanded as he stood over her. "Do you?!"

Yumi scrambled back, her eyes widening as she watched her friends come towards her. The lack of emotion in their eyes was enough to tell her that they weren't in control and that they weren't going to be any help to her. Great, she was on her own. _"That ain't Daddy."_ Yumi heard a voice whisper in her mind. It was a movie quote, but which movie had that come from? It was based on a book, but which one?

Hold on a minute. The quote came from a movie called "It" that had been based on a book. How did it end again? How? Where did the final face off take place?

Her mind went back to the sewers, how XANA had attacked them there. The battle may have begun in Lyoko, but XANA had pulled a sneak attack in the sewers. This nightmare began with that single surprise attack and she would be damned if the nightmare ended like this.

Bowing her head, Yumi bit the inside of her cheek hard enough that tears gathered in her eyes. "Please," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear her. "I surrender. You win."

* * *

lost moonchild: Okay, I would like to say first off that my math skills _suck_ big time so if I got the nine billion minus two million equals eight point eight billion people equation wrong, then you can let me know just don't leave a review like, "OMG, your math sucks big time! How in the hell can you have survive with such pathetic math skills?! You must be a complete idiot to get something as simple as that messed up!" or I probably won't be happy. Be nice about stuff that bug you and I'll do my best to improve it. Read and review!


	10. Chapter 9

lostmoonchild: Okay, tonight's song is "Hope on Fire" by Vienna Teng. I think that it's the story's song while my other Code: Lyoko fic's song is "Un Monde Sans Danger" which is rather fitting. Yes, each story has its own song and I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only author that does that.

**takara410**: Don't worry, I'll keep updating until this story's done so have no fears. I'm actually finding myself fascinated with how this story's turning out so it's probably safe to say that it's steadily turning into a mild obsession. It's when I start crying because it's over that I'll probably write on a piece of paper "Thou shalt not make it a trilogy" and tape it to the computer.

**Traveler:** You've actually read _It_ by Stephen King? Aw, man, I love his books and actually can't help but think of his work while writing this story although I think that either _Misery_ or _Desperation_ would work but not as well. Yeah, I remember that scene pretty well and am actually considering reading the book again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

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Chapter Nine

"Are you serious?" Jeremy asked, his entire body numb from shock. "Do you really want to surrender to XANA?"

Something was wrong with this whole thing. Yumi was stubborn. She wouldn't surrender without a fight and they all know that she could fight a lot more than this. Why was she surrendering like this? Why?

While Yumi never considered herself to be much of an actress, she still felt compelled to keep her true intentions a secret. XANA would know what she was planning if her friends knew despite the knowledge that they were spending more time actually conscious. "I'm sorry but I can't keep doing this." Yumi looked away and stared at the floor as if unable to meet their eyes. "I can't keep pretending that we're making a difference when everything around the world is going to hell."

"Come on, Yumi. What happened to wanting to make him suffer for what he's done?" Odd demanded. "Are you really read to give up?"

"Odd's right." Ulrich confirmed with a nod. "Come on, Yumi. Don't give up just yet."

"I'm tired of fighting!" Yumi shouted at them as tears gathered in her eyes. "When this is over, what'll happen? Besides destruction, what'll be be waiting for us?"

Ulrich moved so he could hold Yumi against him as the others touched her hands and arms. "Don't lose faith yet." Aelita said softly.

"Please, Yumi." Jeremy pleaded quietly.

As she looked at her friends, Yumi couldn't help but feel as if she were somehow failing them. They all looked so young, so vulnerable. All she really wanted to do was hold them and shield them from the world. She wanted to take away the fear and hurt, to replace every negative emotion with something positive.

Hugging them tightly, she closed her eyes. "Trust me," she breathed in their ears. "I know what I'm doing."

*****************

"You should smile more. I'm now the ruler of this world and you're my queen."

Yumi didn't say anything as she looked out the window, her fingers pressing softly against the glass. It had been two days since she had last seen her friends since XANA had decided to keep her locked away in his room. She wanted out but didn't dare try to escape. Who knew what XANA would do if he caught her trying to escape. "You wouldn't want to smile either if you were locked away like some kind of exotic pet." Yumi replied icily.

Her fingers pressed harder against the class, the flesh beneath her nails turning white from the pressure. The Japanese woman stiffened when she felt XANA's fingers brush against her neck and touching her hair. "I recall hearing you say that you surrendered." XANA murmured as his pressed his form against her back. "The tone in your voice and your body language says otherwise."

"Old habits die hard."

A breath caught in Yumi's throat as XANA kissed her neck, his fingers lightly dusting over her shoulders only to rest on her breasts. "You like it when Ulrich touches you. You welcome his advances." XANA murmured. "Why not mine? How are my advances different than his?"

Uh, she actually loved Ulrich and hated XANA? Was it honestly that hard to figure out or was the complexity -or was it simplicity?- of human emotion too much?

His voice changed from a smug tone to questioning and lost. It was as if he were really a child that had been left alone in an unfamiliar place and didn't understand how to use words to describe his feeling? By denying him what he wanted was she eating away at his confidence? She hoped so since he needed a good dose of reality.

Making a fist, she relaxed her body before shoving her elbow into his groin. While he was doubled over in pain, Yumi shot over to the door and tried to open it. Oh shit times four! The door was locked and he was pissed again.

Fear bounded through her body as she hit the door, begging somebody to unlock it. Ragged breaths left her lips when she realized that XANA was coming closer, one hand protectively cupping his abused groin. There was a look of murder in his eyes that told her that he wasn't going to forgive her attack.

A gasp escaped her lips as she was pressed against a wall, XANA's arm pinning her shoulders against the wall as he stepped on her toes to prevent her from kicking him. "Clever. What will you do now that you're defenseless?" XANA questioned.

"Let me go."

Yumi felt her body stiffen as XANA's free hand slipped down her stomach and paused just over her jeans. "Why do you refuse my advances?" XANA asked again.

Brown eyes widened as XANA undid her pants with one hand before slipping his fingers into her panties and softly touched the soft mound between her legs. "I'll make you beg for my touches as much as you beg for his." XANA whispered to himself.

"Don't touch there!" Yumi screamed as she started struggling against him.

A gasp left her lips when he applied pressure to the bundle of nerves, jolts of unwanted pleasure shooting up her spine. XANA kept moving his fingers as wetness began to gather. She was becoming aroused and would soon stop fighting him completely. In this new world she would forget everything other than her body's desire for him.

Right now that was all he wanted and he would get it by any means possible.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Tears rolled down Yumi's face as she sat in the shower, the now cold water hitting her back. How much time had passed since the scalding water had turned as cold as the world? She didn't know. All she wanted was to be clean again.

A beeping noise caught her attention and pulled her from the cold water. Wrapping a towel around her slender form, she moved to the other room and looked at the text message. Another tear rolled down her face as she fell onto her knees, soft sobs of relief leaving her lips.

Looking out of the window and into the dark sky, she nodded slightly to herself. The time had come for the end of XANA's reign of terror and she'd be the one that set off the powder keg.

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lostmoonchild: I'm actually in a good mood. It's Wednesday and today I managed to get on a saddle in one shot and that's actually hard for me to do. On a funny note, when I was getting off of the saddle my bra somehow managed to catch on the saddle and snapped right in half. Lesson: either go without a bra while horseback riding or wear a sports bra. Anyway, read and review, I'll accept flames again since I'm in such a good mood (mainly cause of the bra thing) and probably won't get bristly.


	11. Chapter 10

lostmoonchild: OMG, I'm sooo sorry for not updating last week. As a sign of apology I gave you guys two chapters and a very good reason. Last Sunday evening we were working with our two horses that aren't saddle broke and if you're not paying attention then you're either going to get one of three prizes: A trip to the hospital, a bruised up body, or coffin. Due to possibly completely stupidity, I went to get on the biggest horse she got upset and threw my butt onto the ground before stomping on my foot. Just so we're clear, she weighs over eight hundred pounds and she's only two so obviously she's not going to be saddle broke. When I managed to get on her, she threw a fit again and our heads got into a fight. Since I was going bareback due to the fact that I hate saddles with a passion, I had to cling for dear life as she threw her fit and her head beat the crap out of mine so I spent last Monday trying to determine what got bruised and if anything got fractured. So here's chapter ten for you guys. Enjoy!

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Chapter Ten

The rain came down in freezing torrents as the wind howled angrily. Yumi shivered as she slipped down the stairs and tightly clutched the black jacket that she wore. Her friends didn't know what she was doing and she was sorry that it would look like she was abandoning them. She didn't want to abandon them and she surely didn't want them to feel as if they were on their own but she couldn't see any other way.

Maybe there was another way but she hadn't seen it yet. It didn't matter, she decided, since she didn't have time to think of how to get what she wanted without getting killed. She needed to leave for a little while and come back with some help. XANA would be looking for her to shove a knife into his heart or slip poison into his meals.

Actually, that explained why he was suddenly having one of her friends taste his meals. Jackass. He knew that she wouldn't want to hurt her friends so by making her see that they were testing his food, he knew that she wouldn't poison the food in fear of poisoning her friends.

Didn't somebody make a movie like this where one member of the team apparently abandoned the others only to show up later on? If there was, then she hoped like hell Odd had seen it at some point in time. Maybe then he'd get a general idea of what she was planning.

Distantly she wondered if armies in the past did that kind of thing. One of them pretends to desert the others before returning with backup. If armies did that, then maybe Jeremy and Aelita would catch on quickly enough. They were both pretty smart so maybe they caught on to the whole thing.

Her breaths echoed throughout the sewer as she began to run as quickly as she could. She remembered that XANA could easily take control of animals, the whole rat incident still standing out in her memory. If XANA knew that she was having nightmares because of one of this attacks, would he use that to torture her? Yeah, probably.

The sound of metal hitting stone reached her ears as she climbed up a ladder and pushed the sewer lid off to the side. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked around at the ruined city. There didn't seem to be any life anywhere but she knew that there were still survivors.

She wandered through the streets, careful to avoid any of XANA's controlled followers. By now he'd have realized that she was missing and would have figured that she managed to somehow escape from him. He'd be furious when she returned but that fury wouldn't last for very long.

The Japanese girl froze for a moment when she realized that somebody was watching her from the shadows. "Who are you?" Yumi called.

Upon hearing no response, she stepped back before running away as quickly as she could. She wasn't going back to that hell without the knowledge that somebody would be there to help destroy XANA once and for all. If push came to shove, she'd do it herself.

Soft pants escaped her lips as she skidded to a stop and looked left and right before deciding to run to the right. She read once in a book about an abusive cop that hunted down his wife. He had chosen to sit on the left side of the bus because his wife was left handed and remembered reading how most people thought that while they were making a choice because they wanted to, they were merely choosing to sit on the side of a bus that corresponded with their handedness.

No, now was not the time to be thinking about what she read in a book! But what was the name of that book? It was by Stephen King, she remembered, since he was probably one of her favorite American authors. _Rose Madder_, wasn't it? She was fairly certain that it was the name of the book because it involved a painting.

Yumi stopped running after a bit and slowed down to a walk, freezing when she realized that she was still being watched. Bracing herself, she spun around and glared at whoever it was. Her heart froze in her chest when she saw her brother's familiar face smiling at her.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

How in the hell could she have escaped?!

XANA was silent as he seethed, trying to calculate how she could have possibly gotten past him. Did she have a computer chip in her head or something? No, she was completely human but there was something in her brain's programming that was providing her with safety.

She was human. Humans ran to the one place where they were safest. The factory was out of the question since that had been destroyed shortly after he came to Earth. Her home, maybe? That would make sense seeing as her subconscious regarded home as safe. Home held her parents. Human parents protected their children from harm and provided comfort as well as love.

If she truly did return to her home then she'd be there. Right now though, he was just wondering how exactly she escaped. Had she noticed something that he didn't and decided to take advantage of it before he realized it? No, he was absolutely perfect compared to a human. Humans were nothing more than animals that had given up their instincts in favor of letting machines do all the thinking for them. Honestly, it was no wonder why so many of them were so incredibly stupid.

His fingers brushed against Jeremy's blonde hair, his dark eyes looking at the delicate looking face. There were a few humans, he realized, that still had the ability to think for themselves and be adept at technology. This blonde-haired human, Jeremy, was quite intelligent for a human and appeared to have all of the characteristics that made Yumi quite protective of him.

If the boy were to be in the wild and forced to fend for himself, XANA was fairly certain that the boy would have gotten killed by some predator within the first day or two. When Yumi was with him, she acted like a mother figure to him when it came to keeping him safe. The boy was basically helpless and Yumi couldn't help but respond to that even when her instincts told her not to.

A smile spread across his lips as he thought of a plan to bring his Yumi back to him. With the help of the blonde-haired boy's natural weakness, he was going to manipulate Yumi's instincts into forcing her to return back to his side where she would remain for the rest of her days.

* * *

lostmoonchild: Okay, I'm admittedly tired since I went horseback riding again tonight and didn't use a saddle again. Tonight went pretty good even though I played the role of a spider monkey during one blow up. Anyway, read and review, flames are accepted.


	12. Chapter 11

lostmoonchild: Damn, I thought I had this computer trained not to add in a space in my penname. Oh well, I shall train it! Since I'm an older sister (any of you who know that the crap my brother and I do to each other will know that one), all I had to do was think about how happy I am when I see that my brother's safe and I just did the role reversal with the little brother although I could question my brother about that sort of thing. On second thought… nah! Anyway, we've got another chapter ready for your viewing pleasure so let's put this show on the road!

**takara410**: I'm ahead in chapters that I've got completed so I'm happy. That way if I get thrown off again, I'm not trying to get another two chapters up and done.

**Traveler**: My Stephen King collection is kind of limited so I'm borrowing from my favorite stories. I'll even go to the library and get _Desperation_ today to read once more. I kind of figured that Jeremy would be easiest to deal with when it came to him being bait but Aelita would have worked too. Don't worry, I've still got a chapter or two still waiting patiently so we'll see what happens.

**WickedIsTheWord**: I actually checked your review at two in the morning after I had gotten done babysitting and I must confess that even though I was tired, my face still turned red. I'm honored by your compliment since I'm actually trying to get a story of my own published. I've honestly never read _The 6__th__ Target_ so I'll have to check that out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

She never thought that she would be so grateful to see her brother. Every older sibling probably wished to be an only child again at some point in time but she was actually grateful that her brother was safe. "Rex said that you were that man's prisoner with your friends." Hiroki told his sister as they hurried back to the hideout.

"Rex?"

Hiroki nodded slightly, his eyes holding a look that shouted devotion to the mysterious Rex. "He saved a bunch of us. I told him that you went to Kadic and he went to look for you but I guess he couldn't get in because of that man. When Rex came back, he said that you were that man's prisoner." Hiroki told her with wide eyes. From how his sister looked, something had happened to her. Whatever it was, he knew that it was bad.

That man. In the outside world, XANA was simply known as "that man" and nothing else. If she told this Rex character who XANA was and what they had been doing before everything went to hell, would he believe her?

Probably not seeing as nobody in their right mind would believe her story. As far as she knew, they'd all think her to be mentally unfit due to being raped who knew how many times and thrown around like a rag doll. Tears gathered in her eyes at the thought before her knees gave out on her and she sank to the ground with sobs shaking her entire body.

Hiroki stopped and stared at his sister as she began to cry. It scared him to see his sister crying since she never cried in front of him no matter what was going on. She was always so calm whenever he was upset but maybe it was his turn to be the strong one. What did that man do to her to make her cry? What did he do to Yumi that was making her hurt so much?

He hugged his sister tightly, trying to keep from crying. He had seen their parents' bodies shortly after everything had gone to hell and had cried for them. He had even cried for Yumi even though he didn't know if she was okay or not. As he hugged his sister, Hiroki could see very clearly that his sister wasn't okay.

Neither one knew how much time had passed but they did know that they had to hurry if they expected to avoid capture. It wasn't safe to stay in one spot for very long since any one of XANA's followers could very well show up.

They moved quickly through the shadows until they came to a building with boarded windows. Sneaking inside, they saw a young man in his early twenties looking over some plans. "Rex, this is my sister." Hiroki said as the pair came close to the solitary figure. "I found her running through the streets."

Rex was silent as he looked at Yumi, studying her features very carefully as if he were afraid of something. No, she realized, not afraid. Wary. How many people did XANA possess? How many people did XANA kill that this guy knew?

Yumi resisted the urge to fidget and advert her eyes as Rex stared at her with his intense, dark eyes. "So you're the one that kept sneaking around." Yumi stated. "Do you realize the problems that you've caused me whenever XANA got pissed?"

"XANA?" There was confusion in his eyes.

"That's his name. Now, do you realize what happened every single time he got pissed?"

Rex's eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked at her. Where in the hell did she think she was coming from? How dare she challenge him?! "We are fighting a war for the survival of the human race and you're whining just because he took his anger and frustration out on you?" Rex challenged. "You were a prisoner of war and there's nothing to say that he isn't controlling you right now."

"There are others that are being held captive." Yumi told the dark-eyed man. "Innocent people are possessed by him right now and I won't let him keep them."

"You might as well consider them to be gone. Once that man gains control then there's no way to save them."

Anger filled Yumi's being as she glared at Rex. Clearly he was one of those guys that thought everything needed to be destroyed. "Look, I've seen people that were possessed by XANA before. There is no need to kill them just to free him from their control."

"You don't know if he's able to control them again or not."

"I've been fighting against XANA a lot longer than you have." Yumi informed the man, her voice dangerously calm. "He tried to take control of me. He couldn't. My friends have either been killed or possessed by him. Four of them took refuge in my mind because my mind was and is safe. They are now back in their bodies but they are fighting for control."

"Why should I believe you?" Rex challenged.

"Why not? Think I'm somehow one of XANA's puppets? Fine. Put me through some test if you want but if you think that I'm going to help anybody that's done things to me that I will not speak of in front of my brother, then you're sadly mistaken." A tear rolled down Yumi's face. "He forced my friends to do those same unspeakable things to me and I don't know what hurts worse. Being unable to look at my friends without any fear or knowing that I was powerless to do anything."

"You could have killed him!" Rex shouted at her.

Hiroki stepped back when Yumi punched the young man, seeing the anger and hurt in her eyes. "Don't you think I thought about every possible way to do it?" Yumi shouted at him as tears rolled down her face. "When I wasn't trying to disconnect myself from what was going on, when I was trying to pretend that he wasn't raping me, I was always thinking about how to save my friends and kill XANA."

That man… had raped his sister? Hiroki felt the tears gathering in his eyes as he hugged his sister tightly in an attempt to offer her strength. Anger burned within him as he held onto his sister. He wanted to make that man pay for hurting his big sister. He was going to kill him.

Yumi hugged her brother and looked at Rex, ignoring the tears that were still rolling down her face. "What did you come up with that might be worth trying?" Rex questioned.

Taking a shaky breath, Yumi closed her eyes for a moment. "The sewers. There's a way into the school through the sewers. At least two entrances. One leads into the school basement and the other is in the park." Yumi answered shakily. "I can show you the way in, but I need your word on something."

"What is it?"

She didn't know how much his word was worth but she needed to know that he wouldn't take away what was her right. Forcing herself to breathe slowly, she answered, "You will not harm my friends and you will leave XANA to me."

* * *

lostmoonchild: What could XANA be planning from last chapter and what could Yumi possibly have planned? The chapters are starting to wind down so don't miss next week's instillation of "Nightmares II." Read and review, flames will be accepted.


	13. Chapter 12

lostmoonchild: The first page in my notebook has the list of stories that I'm currently working on and the chapter number that I'm on at the moment. Right now, there are three stories that have been completely covered in white out since they're complete. I even have a second notebook that has the story information and there are three stories that currently have the date finished. Those stories, I'm pleased to say, didn't have that information down yesterday so hopefully this story will be following those other stories quickly.

**WickedIsTheWord:** I will have to check out the book. I think it's a good thing when authors can relate to the characters' emotions since then the readers will be able to understand and possibly relate.

**Takara410:** Yeah, I guess you would if you were stuck in that world. Whether or not he'll stick around, I shan't say just yet.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise. Seriously guys, I'm not that fortunate. If I was, then I wouldn't be writing fan fictions about my own show.

* * *

Chapter Twelve

She left. She actually left without saying anything or even taking them with her. Didn't she care about what happened to them? Didn't she care about them anymore? Why did Yumi leave without saying anything to them?

Jeremy was silent as he stumbled through the streets, shock clouding his mind. How did he get outside the school? Where was everyone else? Why was he alone? Why couldn't he remember how he had gotten out?

Why was he hurting so much?

Every muscle in his body was screaming at him in protest to moving. What had happened to him? Why was his body hurting so much and why did he feel like something terrible had happened to him before he woke up at the school gates? He felt dirty and like nothing would ever make him clean again.

Why was everything ruined? What had happened? How the city get this way? It looked like some kind of war had happened while he was in school but he couldn't explain what had happened.

"Stop right there!"

The blonde turned towards the voice, staring when he saw several guns pointed straight at him. He froze in fear as he looked at the guns, nodding dumbly when he was told to follow the strangers.

"Are you kidding me?! You pointed guns at him?!" Yumi screamed. "Has this whole mess with XANA made you crazy or something? I know things aren't like they used to be but that doesn't give you the right to point loaded weapons at somebody just because they were walking down the street alone!"

Jeremy knew that voice. It was Yumi and she sounded pissed that they had pointed weapons at him. Why was she mad though? He didn't think that she still cared about them. "He came from the school with no recollection of how he got out." A male voice responded patiently.

The blonde waited a second before hearing Yumi shouting again. "I wouldn't remember either! For crying out loud, didn't you even take a look at his injuries?! The poor guy's in shock and you're treating him like a damn criminal!"

"I'm not willing to risk the lives of those that depend on me for survival."

"You're not willing to understand what XANA's capable of, that's what you're not willing to do!"

"Look, he doesn't even remember why everything's shot to hell!"

He could hear Yumi's frustrated groan and almost pictured her running her fingers through her black hair in frustration. "Look, he was under XANA's control until I helped him. When someone is controlled by XANA, they hold no recollection of the things that they did while under his control." Yumi answered. "That's why I'm not blaming any of my friends for anything that they've done since XANA took over."

"Then he could very well be a spy-"

"If you so much as take one shot at him, I will take that gun and put a bullet through your skull."

He could actually see the anger and protectiveness in her eyes as she made the threat. Maybe she hadn't truly left them behind. If his experience so far was something to go by, then Yumi had somehow managed to locate survivors and was employing their help to defeating XANA.

Jeremy watched as Yumi came into the room with a young man following her with a scowl on his face. "I'm so sorry if you felt like I left you guys for good." Yumi said as she gently brushed her fingers through Jeremy's blonde hair. "Are you okay? Nobody hit you since you got here, did they? If anybody did then I want you to point them out so I can show them why you're not to be messed with."

"I'm okay. Yumi, I really don't remember how I got out of there. I know the others are there still but I don't know…" Jeremy fell silent as the tears began rolling down his face. "Yumi, I'm so sorry for what I did. It wasn't me and-"

Yumi kissed Jeremy's forehead, her brown eyes soft as she looked at him. "There's nothing to forgive. The Jeremy that I know and love wouldn't hurt me like that. The Ulrich that I know and love wouldn't hurt me like that and neither would the Odd that I know and love. Not even Aelita would be able to hurt me." Yumi answered softly. "It was XANA. It always was him and I kept that in mind even when I didn't want to admit to what was happening."

Jeremy nodded slightly as he forced back the sobs. In a sense, he felt as if he and the others had been subjected to the same things that Yumi had been. Nothing that XANA had made them do was of their own choice. It was always XANA that made the choices and forced them to do whatever he wanted them to do. It was XANA that had forced them to do those things to Yumi and he couldn't do anything to make it right to her.

He felt Yumi's arms wrap around him and felt her fingers brushing through his hair as she made quiet, soothing sounds. He listened to her heart beating softly against her chest and against his ear. Distantly he supposed that the reason why hearing another's heart beating was soothing was because of the nine and a half months spent inside the uterus with the mother's heart beating. Subconsciously they were reminded of those months and whenever they heard someone's heart beating it was soothing because of those subconscious memories of safety and warmth.

When he had calmed down, he looked at Yumi and saw the anxiousness in her eyes. "Yumi," he said softly, "it's time to take XANA down once and for all."

Anxiousness flashed in Yumi's lips as she bit her lower lip. Clearly she wasn't ready to face XANA just yet but he could see that she was realizing that she would never be fully ready to face XANA. "You can't believe anything he says!" The young man shouted at Yumi. "If you do then you're on your own."

Yumi closed her eyes for a moment before looking at the man. "Fine. I'll believe Jeremy and I'll go back alone while you sit here hiding." She shook her head softly. "You're not fighting for the human race. You're simply hiding while everybody else does all of the dirty work.

"The battle isn't out here, Rex. The battle is in the school where XANA is waiting. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to sit here and hide. I'm going back to the school and I'm taking back what is mine."

"You'll be killed!" Rex protested.

"Then I die, but at least I die knowing that I'm fighting for the human race." Yumi helped Jeremy up. "Can you walk?"

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah," he answered. "I can walk."

"Good because I'm going to need you to hack into the school's system. If XANA wants to play this stupid game of his, then we'll play and we'll beat him with our own rules." Yumi informed the blonde.

She had a plan, he could see it in her eyes. It burned within her like a wildfire and he knew full well that she was harnessing the anger and disgust she felt towards XANA with every intention of using it against him.

Not for the first time and not for the last, Jeremy was grateful of one thing.

He wasn't on Yumi's bad side.

* * *

lostmoonchild: Right, another chapter done but is it a trap set up by XANA or is there something else that we're not being told? I don't know, my muse is currently reminding me that it wants more M&Ms and I don't have anymore. Anyway, read and review, flames are accepted.


	14. Chapter 13

lostmoonchild: I was reading _Misery_ for the umpteenth time when I came up with the prefect ending. As a result of finding the perfect ending, I marked the page and am waiting with bated breath for the end of this story so I can use it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

She didn't want to leave her little brother behind but she needed him to survive just incase she didn't. Somebody had to carry on their family and she couldn't think of anybody better than Hiroki. A few short months ago, she wouldn't have thought him able to do such a thing but she could see clearly now that he was perfect for the job.

Yumi kissed her brother's forehead and gave him a hug. From how Hiroki was clinging to her, he didn't want her to leave him behind. "Let me come with you." Hiroki pleaded. "Yumi, please!"

"No. Hiroki, listen to me." She knelt down so she was face to face with him. "When this is done, I'll come back for you. I will always come back for you."

Hiroki nodded slightly, silent tears rolling down his face. He didn't doubt that his sister would come back as soon as she was done but he couldn't help but be afraid for her. "I love you, Yumi." Hiroki whispered as he held tightly to his sister.

"I love you too."

Kissing her brother's forehead again, she stood up and looked at Jeremy. "Let's go, Einstein." Yumi said softly before looking at Rex with calm eyes. "If you shoot any of my friends for any reason that we both know that I will not believe, I'm going to make you wish that XANA was the one was kicking your ass instead of me."

Rex's eyes narrowed slightly at the warning before he shrugged as if he didn't care that she was threatening him. "Whatever," he replied.

Giving her brother one last smile, Yumi left with the two young men and headed towards the school where XANA waited for them.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Oh, Gods… it had been a trap. He had set a damn trap and now Rex was dead. She wanted to scream that it was her fault but she couldn't take the blame. She hadn't known that it was a trap and when this whole mess was over with, she'd have to convince her friends that none of this was their fault. They wouldn't need to feel guilty about what XANA made them do.

They would always have her forgiveness no matter what they did to her. That was how deep her love for them was and there was no way that XANA could change her love for them.

Yumi stared in horror at the decapitated man, her brown eyes wide with fear as she looked at Jeremy. His eyes were empty, letting her know that XANA had taken control of him again. "Jeremy…" Yumi whispered as she stepped back.

She could feel her heart racing against her chest as 'Jeremy' advanced, closing her eyes tightly when he roughly grabbed her. "We're returning to Lord XANA." 'Jeremy' told her with emotionless eyes.

Her eyes fell on the corpse that lay in a pool of blood as she was pulled back towards the school, every fiber of her bodying screaming at her to fight back. Those screams were silenced by the conflicting desire to avoid causing Jeremy harm. Damn XANA for realizing that she was protective of the blonde. "Let me go." Yumi shouted at him.

"Why did you run away, Yumi? Why did you abandon us?" There was false pain in his voice as he looked at her.

A scream tore itself from her lips as electricity danced across her skin, causing her muscles to spasm. The edges of her vision grew dark as her mind tried to reject the pain. She had to fight against it, she just had to.

With a soft sigh, she slipped into unconsciousness.

The feeling of being watched overcame her as Yumi slowly opened her eyes, her entire body freezing when she realized that XANA was watching her. "Did you really think that you could escape me?" XANA questioned.

Yumi jumped out of the bed and against a wall, trying to stay as far away from XANA as she could. "Let me go." Yumi said dangerously.

"You'll just come back. You know that I'll hurt them if you escape. You've already seen what I've done to Jeremy."

No, she wasn't going to break. She was going to keep strong and fight against XANA no matter what was going on.

So why couldn't she stop the tears from falling? Distantly she realized that she was almost like Paul Sheldon in _Misery_. What was that quote? The one about the bird from Africa? _"He had asked his mother where the bird came from and when she said Africa he had understood it was doomed to die in the cage where it lived, far away from wherever God had meant for it to be…"_ She was the bird from Africa and the school was the cage. Her friends… they were the bars that held her. "Just kill me already," she sobbed. "Just kill me and be done with it."

She knew that XANA was startled by her tears. It seemed like guys had issues with girls crying so pretend tears became an art form detectable only by other women. Subconsciously she was preparing herself for what was to come since the time had finally come to take a stand. In stories, the hero seemed to always win no matter how great the risk was. A group of kids destroying a creature that killed their classmates and brother. An author that had gotten his foot cut off and knee smashed managing to kill his psycho captor. Hell, she even remembered reading a story where a woman had gotten handcuffed to a bed by her husband before he died and managed to escape.

She stiffened when XANA touched her and helped her to her feet. "Stop crying." XANA told her. When her tears refused to stop, he shook her. "I said, stop crying!"

But she didn't. She didn't know if she was pretending to cry or not. Were her tears real or was she pretending still?

Collapsing to her knees, Yumi curled up as she sobbed. A cry of fear left her lips as XANA roughly grabbed her and shook her. "You will stop crying or so help me you'll wish that you had never crossed my path." XANA growled dangerously.

Hiccups left her lips as she stared at him, ignoring the tears that continued to fall. "Why are you doing this?" Yumi shouted at him. "What did we ever do to you?"

She didn't care if they had already had this argument. She needed him distracted but invoking his anger was something that she didn't want to do. No, she wasn't over the river that would make her forget everything just yet. She still needed to take care of the bull. _"I repay."_ She knew that quote and she would make it come true.

Touching XANA's chest, she looked at him through dark eyelashes and slowly blinked. "Just help me understand. If I'm to be yours in this new world," she murmured as she pressed herself against him, "then I need to understand why."

As he released her arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and moved her face so their lips were a mere inch apart. She could feel his warm breath against her lips and resisted the urge to move away from him. "Tell me," she whispered. "Make me understand."

Closing her eyes tightly and wishing that she was somewhere else, she pressed her lips against his.

* * *

lostmoonchild: Wow, this chapter ended up taking a twist I wasn't really expecting. Actually, I was expecting something to happen between Jeremy and Yumi but in the end it turned out to be between XANA and Yumi. Okay, the others will come back again in the next chapter and all hell will hopefully start to break loose. Read and review, flames are accepted!


	15. Chapter 14

lostmoonchild: Okay, my little cousin's a moron and I really hope that he gets sent away. Clearly I have no love for him since he's nothing more than a troublemaker that insists on getting me in trouble just for breathing. What'd the little sh-t do this time? He blew up my grandmother's computer and now I'm forced to udpate whenever I can get to a computer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or anything else unless I say otherwise.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

She was as clean as she was going to get without lying down on the damn floor with her legs open and having somebody stick a hose between her legs with the water on full blast just to clean out her insides. Tonight, the nightmare would end once and for all so the world could pick itself up again. She didn't know how much time had passed since the nightmare first began with Lyoko's destruction but tonight they'd all wake up and find a new day waiting for them.

"_The human race will support our cause just as long as they don't see four kids running around shouting that a demonically possessed computer has taken human form by stealing an alternate intelligence's human code and destroying the AI simply by shutting down an alternate world that nobody knows about." _

But the world knew that the one who had destroyed their world wasn't human. They could sense it but they didn't know why XANA didn't feel human when he looked and sounded human. All they were concerned about regarding XANA was why they were so uneasy with him around despite the knowledge that he was the one that had destroyed the world.

None of them knew how he had done it overnight and it bothered them. They knew that something had been keeping them safe for some time but they didn't know what had failed. They would be the silent heroes that had been forgotten by history. All anybody would remember was the man that had destroyed the world and that he had been killed by somebody who had risen up against him.

Yumi was silent as she got dressed and went into the bedroom, seeing her friends waiting for her. Their eyes told her that they were completely free of XANA's influence and that they were ready to help her. "You know what we need to do." Yumi said with a slightly worried look in her eyes.

"Don't look so worried. We can kick his ass and we'll make sure he doesn't get back up." There was determination burning in Odd's eyes.

There was a number of things you could do to a guy but there was probably a couple of places that you should never hit a guy for any reason. The first place was in the family jewels for obvious reasons. The second place, she mused, was in the pride. XANA had taken a sledgehammer and nailed the three guys' prides with it repeatedly until their pride was fractured in several places.

XANA thought himself to be a god of a new world. He wanted her to be his queen and she was refusing. _"Yes, but my God is strong."_ Yumi nearly started at the words that had played in her mind. Okay, some people needed music or something beautiful to stare at to help them stay sane. She needed Stephen King's works to keep her from snapping and doing something that she knew she would regret later on. Hell, she was already regretting having willingly opened her legs for XANA just to get him to drop his guard around her.

"_Yes, but my God is strong."_ Who had said that and when? She couldn't remember the boy's name, but he had been a prophet or something. Okay, when did he say that? When Tak was trying to convince the boy to abandon his god?

XANA may have considered himself to be a new god, but he was the diseased spirit that possessed people and forced them to do terrible things. _David._ That was the boy's name. That was the prayer boy that Tak had hated and feared so much. If XANA was Tak, then she was David.

Looking at her friends, Yumi offered a small smile. It was reassuring, telling them that she wasn't afraid. Whatever would happen tonight, she would fight. Tonight, XANA would die and they would all be free.

"You're absolutely certain that you can do this?" Ulrich asked softly.

She laughed softly. "I don't know but I have to try." Yumi answered as she hugged her friends. "Wait for my mark."

They each nodded slightly and left the room with her.

-N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E-S-I-I-

Every queen needed servants to wait upon her and he couldn't say that he was surprised that she had chosen her friends. Humans liked comfort and clearly having her friends with her provided Yumi with comfort.

XANA watched as Yumi approached him with a small smile on her face, her brown eyes showing pleasure. Behind her, her five friends walked with calm looks on their faces. It seemed that Yumi had tended to the injuries that Jeremy had received during her absence. Such a caring girl.

He'd have to knock that out of her.

"It's a cold night tonight." Yumi said as she touched XANA's shoulders and pulled herself closer to him. "Maybe you'd like to help warm me up."

If none of them knew that Yumi was pretending, they would have been sick. Odd resisted the urge to make retching noises, seeing the seductive look in her eyes. Women truly understood the art of manipulation if Yumi was anything to go by. All she did was pout a little about being cold and look at their enemy with false lust. He'd have to keep his eyes open when it came to that sort of thing.

XANA frowned, apparently not believing her. "You didn't bother going to one of your friends?" XANA snarled.

"You're warmer." Somebody put her out of her misery. Quick. She was begging.

A scream left her lips when XANA suddenly backhanded her, sending her sliding across the floor. "Yumi!" Ulrich shouted as he darted over to the Japanese girl.

XANA's face darkened with anger, the whole room filling with his anger. The air grew thick, making it difficult to breathe. It felt like he was taking over the whole room, filling every square inch with his essence. "You dare to stand against me?" XANA roared, the windows shaking as if afraid of him. "Insolent humans! You will all die!"

They scrambled over to Yumi just as she was getting to her feet, anger burning with in her eyes. "This is our world!" Yumi shouted at him. "You're not welcome here, XANA!"

The air grew heavier as XANA's entire body shook with silent fury. They were angering him, goading him on until he no longer could think clearly. "You're not welcome." Odd agreed. "Get out of here."

Grabbing the knives that they had each hidden, they moved around XANA with determination burning in their eyes. Despite everything yelling at them to run, to escape from the furious creature that was spinning around in circles with furious eyes, they stood their ground. "It's five against one." Ulrich told XANA with a dangerous look in his eyes. "Do you really think that you can win?"

Uncertainty flickered in his eyes. "NOW!" Yumi shouted.

XANA spun around faster, yelling in pain as the knives dug into his flesh. He felt a knife go into his spine, severing the nerves. His legs went out from underneath him as the five teenagers repeatedly stabbed him, screaming in fury at everything he had done. With each stab, another name left their lips. Sissy, Herb, Nicholas, William, Theo, Milly… everybody that they had known as well as those that they hadn't known.

Warm blood covered their faces and hands, soaking their clothes as they continued to stab the now lifeless form. They weren't stabbing to kill him anymore. Now they were just stabbing him to help sever his limbs.

When they had no more strength in their bodies, the five teenagers moved away and sat down, staring at what they had done. Were they murderers or were they heroes? Had they done good or had they done evil? None of them knew the answers, each one afraid of what they would have been if somebody had known the answers.

None of them knew how much time had passed but they could feel the cold liquid sticking to their bodies through their clothes and drying on their faces and hands. Yumi frowned slightly as a thought crossed her mind and she nodded slightly to herself. There was something that she felt needed to be done if she were to ever forget what he had done to her.

Taking her knife firmly in her hand, she raised it and plunged it into his crotch. There was a movie she had seen once where a method of torture was to have a nail hammered into a guy's groin. That method of torture, she decided, was perfect for XANA.

Slowly, they stumbled outside just as the sun began to rise in the east. Squinting at the light, they pulled the gates open and stared at the world that waited for them. Glancing backwards, Yumi smiled to herself. "In a book that I read once, there was an author that had been held by a psychotic fan and forced to write a story for her." Yumi told her friends. "When he finished her story, he forced himself to write two of the most hated and loved words even though his hand was swollen and stiff."

"What's that?" Jeremy questioned.

Yumi smiled faintly as she held onto Ulrich's hand before answering, "The end."

* * *

lostmoonchild: And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! The end of "Nightmares II" and I'm thrilled about it although I'm blaming the frosting that I'm currently munching on. I was actually watching this whole chapter play itself out in my mind's eye and I probably didn't do what I was seeing any justice. Anyway, this is lostmoonchild saying, "Remember to dream. Dream to dare. Dare to live."


End file.
